Adjustable support for clothes hangers or shade fixtures



June 10, 1930. T c. A. BUNKER v 1,763,034

ADJUSTABLE SUPPORT FOR CLOTHES HANGERS OR SHADE FIXTURES Filed Oct. 3, 1927 ffiI/Qia w Patented June 10,1930

UNITED "STATES.

PATENT OFFICE cmmnns A. BUNKER, or KANSAS CITY, mrssonnr, Ass'rcnon r BU KER-omens? mnmnorunme COMPANY, or KANSAS cIrY, mrssonnr, a conrona'rron or.

v mssounr nnmsrnnnn surron'r ron 'crornns LHANGERS or v SHADE. rrxrunns Application filed October 3, 1927. I Serial No. 223,638.

. This invention relates to appliances for the support of clothes-draping hangers within a closet or window shade fixtures or the for the support, providing leverage for effect like, and more especially pertains to that classof such appliances supported without the use of nails, screws or the like, and hence applicable for use in conjunctionwith wood or metal or other hard parts of a building to fasten or retain the appliances in position.

' My primary object is to provide a telescopic support composed of a plurality of bars and a combined adjusting and locking means ing an increase in the length of the support by combinedrotaryand sliding movements, and a guard against reverse or shortening movement of the support.

A further object is toprovide the member with detachable grip devices of a character making provision by adjustment on the member, for slightly increasing the length thereof.

I am aware o-fthe existence of an appliance composed of two overlapping bars equipped at their remote ends with plvoted gr1pp1ng devices, and pivoted-together at their. overlapped ends, and adapted to be applied in position and lengthened for clamping action by an expanding toggle movement and withdrawn from clamping position by reverse or contracting toggle action, but such an appliance does not afiord dependable support for clothes hangers, as upward pressure on the composite member, at an intermediate point,

in the removal of a hanger or accidentally by pressure of ones arm, is apt to unclamp the member and permit it to fall and the clothes to drop upon or contact with the floor.

I have also become aware of devices composed of a plurality of bars slidably related, and provided with means for adjusting said bars to and fastening them in a different relative position of adjustment,-but none of the devices with which I. am familiar, provide for sufiicient adjustment as desirable for an ex-.

tensible support or function to accomplish adjustment of the bars by a-mode of opera-' tion involving both pivotal and slidable' movement. My appliance, when once proper- 1y secured, retains its position against such .anfnoying eventuality, regardless of the direction in which pressure is applied upon it; and yet may be removed readily without causing the suspended hangers to slide toward its ends as occursto a greateror lesser extent when a hanger of the other type mentioned is broken upwardly in unclamping it from operative position. For unusuall wide closets or windows, the member may be comosed of three sections and two combined ength increasing and locking means, the two ends bars being of identibal construction.

With the object in view mentioned, the invention consists in certain novel and useful tral vertical section and broken away at two points.

Figure line'III'-III of Figure 2, but on a' larger scale than said figure.

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the right hand end of the appliance-as illustrated by Figure 2. a

3 is a vertical section taken on the Figure 5 is an enlarged detail perspective the appliance. V

Figure 6 is a top plan view of the device as view of one of the end gripping .devices of composed of three bars adapted particularly for use in wide closets or windows.

Referring'now to thedrawing in detail, 1 and 2 indicate inverted U-shaped channel members fitting telescopically together, the lower ends of the arms of member 2 beingprovided with inwardly projecting flanges 3 engaging the lower edges of the arms ofmemher 1 to hold the members in alinement at all times. Both. members in the construction 5 shown by Figures 1 to 4 inclusive, are provided at theirpduter ends with outwardly and upwardly projecting angle lugs 4, and member 2 is provided centrally ofits bridge portion with a longitudinal series of h les 5.

I Member 1 is provided in the bridge portion is adapted for detachab of its overlapped end with a longitudinal slot 6 which registers with two or more holes of member 2 when the member is extended preliminary to and after it is locked in 01:!- erativeposition.

The locking means for the bars composing the member comprises a lever 7 pivoted to and within bar 1 at 8, and a catch 9 pivoted at 10 to the lever and provided with a slot 11' having pivotal and sliding movement on a cross pin 12 of said bar 1, said catch having one or more upwardly-projecting teeth 13 to be forced by proper movement of the lever. up through slot 6 and into one or a pair of the holes 5 of bar 2, the operation of the lever as said tooth or teeth engage said hole or holes imparting sliding movement to bar 2 for increasing the length of the member as a whole, the movement of the lever continuing until pivot 10 attains a position above center with respect to the plane of the pivot 8 and cross pin 12, so that the lever cannot swing back to unlock the bars until positive downward pressure is applied on its free or handle end, and to guard against chance of such ac-- tion occurring accidentally the free end of the lever when in locked position lies within the channel ofthe member, as shown clearly by dotted lines in Figure 2. It is preferred that the parts shall be so proportioned that a tool, such as a button-hook, screw driver or the like, shall be needed to give a proper hold on the free end of the lever to effect its opening movement, as by making such provision chance of accidental unlocking movementof the lever is avoided.

Each end of the member is provided with a clamping or gripping device Which for convenience of packing for shipment and also for making provision for still further increasing the length of the Imember as a whole, e connection with the member. Each of said devices comprises a channel plate 14 provided with a central vertical bowed portion or hollow rib 15 provided with a pair ottransverse slots '16 and- 17, and the member is also provided at opposite sides of the rib with lugs 18. The channel side of the plate receives and holds firmly in place a rubber or other compressible block 19 which is adapted when forming a part of bars 1 and 2. When the angle flanges Should it be found it is desirable to slightly increase the length of the appliance as a whole, one of the gripping devices is disengaged fromthe corresponding angle flange and then reengaged therewith through the slot 17, and when this is donethe' adjacent end of the engaged bar bears against the rib of the plate 'ofsaid gripping device and also against the lugs 18 thereof. The length of the device is thusincreased by the depthof thelugs, and if slightly greater increase in length is found desirable, the other gripping device can be likewise arranged with respect to its engaging bar.

The appliance for use as a clothes hanger support will ordinarily consist of bars 1 and 2 of a greater width and depth than will be ncessary where such bars form a part of a window shade support or fixture. cases, however, they will be applied in the same manner, that' is to say, after the appliance as a whole has been assembled as shown in full lines,'Figure 2, to correspond In both substantially in length to the distance between the bars B of the closet or the inner faces of a window casing as the case may be,

the length of the device and clamp the gripping devices firmly against the parts B or the like, the movement of the lever, as here inbefore stated, first engaging the tooth or teeth 13 with one or two of the holes of bar 2, and then imparting extending movement to the member as a whole so as to clamp the compressible blocks firmly against said bars B or the like, the movement of the lever continuing until the pivotal .point 10 has passed center as hereinbefore explained so that the member as extended shall be locked firmly in position, and to remove the device, all that is necessary is to reverse the operation of the lever as will be readily'understood.

It will be apparent that by securing the appliance in position as explained, it will retain its position against any reasonable force applied upon it in any direction, and that when it is unclamped and removed it has no tendency to collapse and permit clothes suspending hangers hooked upon it to slide in any direction, providedof course the device is held in a substantially horizontal position, and it will also be apparent that the appliance can be placed in or removed from position regardless of whether or not hangers are suspended upon it, as any hanger which may be in the path of the lever can be pushed.

aside enough to permit the lever 'be movement of the their remote ends,

operated;

- From the above description it will be ap-V" parent that I have produced a support for clothes hangers or window shade fixtures embodying the features of advantage set forthas desirable in the statement of the obj ect of the invention, and which is of simple,

strong,'d11rable, and inexpensive constructionand needs no nails or screws or other extraneous appliances for its proper securement regardless of whether or not it is clamped against wood or metal surfaces or other hard surfaces.

I claim: o 1. A member comprising telescopically related'bars, gripping devices mounted on the remote ends of said bars, and means carried by one of the bars and movable pivotally and longitudinally slidable' thereon for engaging the other bar and effecting relative sliding bars to increase the length of the member as a whole. v 2. A member comprising telescopically related bars provided with angle flanges at plates detachably enfianges, compressible gaging said angle v projecting outward blocks carried by and from said plates, and means carried by one of the bars and movable pivotally and longitudinally slidable thereon for engagmg the other barjand effecting relative sliding movement of the bars to increase the length of the member as a whole. I r

3. A member comprising channel bars fitting-telescopically together, the inner member having a'slot and the outer member a longitudinal series of holes, gripping devices and pivotal movement mounted on the remote ends of said bars,

anda movable device carried by the inner' longitudinally slidable relative thereto and provided with a tooth for projecting up through said slot and into and applying endwise pressureon the outer bar for efl'ectingan increase in the length bar and adapted for of the member'as a whole.

an increase in the length of the member as' a whole, and a lever carried by the inner bar and pivoted to the movable device for effooting the movement thereof mentioned;

said lever being adapted in effecting such movement, to swing upwardly into the inner one of said holes fitting telescopically :to'gether, having a slot and the outer-one a net series of'holes, a' pin bridging the channel of the inner member opposite said slot, a device having a slot" teeth adjacent the slot of 1 the inner bar, a lever pivoted in the inner bar and pivotally connected eccentrically of engaging said and one or more its pivot to said slotted device and-adapted when swung upwardly into the channel of l a the inner bar to impart longitudinal and upa ward movement to the slotted device to cause the tooth or teeth of the same to pass-up bar and lock'the'movable baragainst a'ccidental.reverse movement. V- v, "5. A member composedof chan er-baa; the inner-one 1 'longitudi, g

through said-slot and engage a hole or holes of the other bar and efiect' extension of the member as a whole; the movement of the lever alsodisposing its pivotal point of connection with the slotted device at a point past center with. respect to the plane of the pivotal point of the lever and said cross pin.

6 In an appliance of the character descrlbed, a channel bar provided at an end plate bearing against the endo said bar and provided with a vertical hollow rib having a-transverse slot engagin theangle flange, and a compressible block v tting in the channel plate and bridging the hollow side of said r1 7 In any appliance of. the'character described, a pair of bars fitting telescopically together and provided at their remote ends with up-turned angle flanges, a channel plate at each of said remote ends, having a hollow vertical rib facing the adjacent bar end and with an up-turned angle flange, a channel ice provided in different horizontal planes with a pair of horizontal slots, the plates also hav-- inga pair oflugs at opposite sides of each r1b.1n a plane below that of the topmost slots a distance greater than the vertical width of the telescopic bar but less than such width below the plane of the other slots, and means for causin the 'remote ends of the bars to clamp agalnst the adjacent channel plates. 7

8. In an appliance of the character described, a channel plate having a hollow vertlcal r1b projecting from the body of the plate inv a plane intermediate and in the opposite direction to the ribs, the rib having an upper transverse slot and -'a lower but shallower transverse slot; thebody'of the plate also hav.-.

ing lugs-proj'ectin'gi-in. the same direction 'as' and at opposite sidesyof therib in a horizontal Plane bst i lyglowerthan that occupied by the lower slot.

9. In an.{appliance--of the charactertdescribed,-.a pair of inverted-U bars fitted telescoplcall jtogether,'the outer one having in turned anges engaging the lower edges of the arms of the other bar,and having a seriesv of holes in its bridge portion, and the inner one a slot in its bridge portion,- a devicefitting within and having a and slot connection with the inner bar, and provided with a toothed end adapted to project through said slot and engage a. hole or holes of the outer bar, and a lever pivoted to and within the inner bar and pivotally connected to the said device for imparting rotatable and endwise 'slidable movement to the latter. In testimony whereof I aflix my si ature.

' CHARLES A. BUN (ER, 

